| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, The proud heritage of a Dallas institution is being |
|
|
honored on April 12, 2013, with the dedication of the Moorland YMCA |
|
|
Building on Flora Street as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In the late 1920s, the Young Men's Christian |
|
|
Association of Dallas began an effort to create a YMCA in the |
|
|
African American neighborhood of North Dallas; despite the economic |
|
|
hardship of the Great Depression, local residents raised $75,000, |
|
|
and another $25,000 was contributed by the Rosenwald Fund, which |
|
|
helped build YMCAs for African American communities across the |
|
|
American South; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Named for Dr. Reverend Jesse Edward Moorland, a |
|
|
national official of the YMCA, the new facility was designed in the |
|
|
Italian Renaissance Revival style and opened in 1930; it offered |
|
|
programs in education and recreation for local youth and made its |
|
|
gymnasium available for use by nearby schools; a number of |
|
|
prominent athletes received their earliest training there, among |
|
|
them welterweight boxing champion Curtis Cokes, professional |
|
|
football player Jimmy "Iron Claw" Hill, and Chicago Cubs shortstop |
|
|
Ernie Banks; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, This handsome, redbrick building became a hub for |
|
|
the social, cultural, and political life of the African American |
|
|
community in Dallas as one of the few places where African Americans |
|
|
could congregate outside of church; it served as an important |
|
|
meeting venue for civil rights activists and members of the NAACP, |
|
|
and it provided hospitality for African American visitors who had |
|
|
difficulty finding a hotel room in the segregated city; famous |
|
|
overnight guests included boxer Muhammad Ali and Supreme Court |
|
|
Justice Thurgood Marshall; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Eventually the needs of area YMCA members outgrew |
|
|
the building, and the facility on Flora Street was closed in 1970 |
|
|
and replaced with a location in Oak Cliff; the Moorland YMCA |
|
|
Building continues to serve the community today as the home of the |
|
|
Dallas Black Dance Theatre, which purchased the property in 1999; |
|
|
and |
|
|
WHEREAS, For more than 80 years, the Moorland YMCA Building |
|
|
on Flora Street has played a meaningful role in the lives of African |
|
|
Americans in Dallas, and the preservation of this notable structure |
|
|
for future generations is truly deserving of recognition; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of the Moorland YMCA |
|
|
Building as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and commend all |
|
|
those responsible for this noteworthy occasion. |
| |
|
|
Giddings |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 1336 was adopted by the House on April |
|
|
17, 2013, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |